Tag: economic

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Business Development News

Park+Vine relocating to larger space, adding full vegan grocery store

One of Over-the-Rhine’s most popular stores, Park+Vine, will be relocating to a new larger space this fall. Dan Korman announced today that the green general store will move from its original location at 1109 Vine Street to a larger space at 1202 Main Street (two blocks east) in late September 2010.

The move will finally give Park+Vine room to expand and begin offering more food products than their current space would allow. The new 2,881 square-foot space at The Belmain gives the store an additional 1,100 square feet of space to work with.

The additional space will reportedly be used to create a full vegan grocery store that will offer bulk grains, local produce, bulk cleaning supplies, and a food bar with Fab Ferments Kombucha, fresh pressed juices and single-cup drip coffee and espresso from La Terza. The new store will also include a book wall, indoor and outdoor seating areas, bicycle parking, and a separate room for Park+Vine’s popular classes.

Park+Vine celebrated its third anniversary earlier this month and has long eyed expansion either at its current location, or somewhere else in the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.

The new location also fits with Park+Vine’s environmentally sustainable ethos in addition to offering up extra square footage. The Belmain, developed by Cincinnati-based Urban Sites, was awarded LEED Silver certification for its sustainable building features and construction practices.

Greg Olson of Urban Sites said, “Park + Vine is exactly the type of retail business meant for the LEED Certified Silver Belmain Building,” exclaimed Greg Olsen, COO of Urban Sites. “It will help us turn the corner and bring sustained economic vitality to one of Cincinnati’s finest commercial streets.”

Korman is also excited about being a part of the resurgence taking place along Main Street in Over-the-Rhine which has brought new commercial tenants like Neon’s Unplugged, JackPotts Tavern, forkheartknife, Atomic Number 10, Original Thought Required, and You Do Yoga to the area recently.

“This is a beautiful and culturally alive area–full of people who see potential in every corner of the neighborhood and are doing something about it,” Korman stated in a media release. “It’s an ideal place for budding entrepreneurs.”

The new Park+Vine location (map) is expected to celebrate a grand opening during the Midpoint Music Festival which takes place between September 23-25, 2010.

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Business Development News

Broadway Tower at St. Xavier Park reduced to nothing more than parking

In 2003, the City of Cincinnati opened the $9 million, 400-space 7th & Broadway Parking Garage.  The above-ground parking garage was designed to eventually accommodate a 12-story condo tower addition on top that would create approximately 166 condo units.  The condos have yet to materialize, but more parking space has.

Early on the project was once seen as a potential site for a new downtown grocery in an area surging with new residents at the nearby loft conversion projects including Sycamore Place and the Renaissance Apartments.  But while condo projects flooded the downtown Cincinnati market, the developers of the proposed Broadway Tower at St. Xavier Place were unable to get in on the action.

As part of the initial agreement, the City paid $2 million for structural supports that would support the residential tower envisioned atop the parking garage – a figure City officials expected to recover upon completion of the residential tower.  To guarantee such a return officials gave developers, a partnership between Al Neyer Inc. and North American Properties, until June 2010 to apply for a building permit for the residential tower, and while the residential tower is no where in sight, an expanded parking garage is nearing completion.

Procter & Gamble announced last year that it would relocated 650 employees from its Governor’s Hill location to its world headquarters in downtown Cincinnati.  As part of that move P&G needed additional parking for its expanded downtown workforce, and the City was eager to provide that by expanding the 7th & Broadway Parking Garage.  The additional employees will add approximately $630,000 annually in payroll tax revenues, but also seems to be the proverbial nail in the coffin for a bold project that would have put an exclamation point on northeastern downtown’s residential resurgence.

The inability to get the residential project done during relatively good market conditions eventually led developers to the housing crisis of 2008 which has basically paralyzed the housing market ever since.  The net result might be good for city coffers, but for downtown Cincinnati it means 650 more part-time occupants, hundreds of new parking spaces and more than 300 fewer residents.  If people come first, then you would have to view this as a net loss for downtown.

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Business Development News Politics

City Council poised to approve lease agreement for $4M Moerlein Lager House

Sources inform UrbanCincy that City Council is poised to approve a lease agreement with MLH Cincinnati USA, LLC to construct and operate the new $4 million Moerlein Lager House located within the Cincinnati Riverfront Park which is currently under construction. The ordinance will go before City Council’s Budget & Finance Committee on Monday, June 28th at 1pm, and then move on to a full council vote on Wednesday, June 30th where it is expected to pass with an overwhelming majority.

The new Moerlein Lager House is the first tenant signed for the new Cincinnati Riverfront Park which will eventually support several restaurant/bar uses. Once complete, the new microbrewery restaurant will brew 5,000 barrels of beer annually, offer brewery tours, and seat 500 inside with another 600 outside in two biergarten areas and a second-level terrace that will boast dramatic views of the new park, Ohio River, and Roebling Suspension Brige.

Christian Moerlein CEO Greg Hardman says that the two biergarten areas have the ability to be connected around the building during special events thus creating one enormous biergarten area.

Details on the lease agreement expected to be approved by the Budget & Finance Committee will be released on Monday, but it is understood that a variety of rent payments will be paid by Christian Moerlein to the Cincinnati Park Board over the course of the lease.

The 15,000 square-foot development is expected to be complete by spring 2012 which is one-year after the projected completion for the first phase of the Cincinnati Riverfront Park.

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

Macy’s Music Festival to compliment GMWA Convention, fill downtown Cincinnati with music

The Gospel Music Workshop of America (GMWA) will return to Cincinnati for the fourth time as it hosts its annual convention in late July 2010. The convention, which runs from July 24-30, will be complimented by the annual Macy’s Music Festival which takes place on July 30th and 31st at Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati.

The GMWA is expected to draw more than 5,000 people from around the world to Cincinnati to celebrate gospel music, and is expected to have an economic impact of approximately $3 million according to the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB).

“We are excited to once again bring the GMWA to Cincinnati USA,” stated James Robinson, board of directors member for the Gospel Music Workshop of America, in a prepared release to UrbanCincy. “From Cincinnati’s great music heritage to the wonderful partnership we’ve been able to develop with the Macy’s Music Festival, this region has so much to offer our members. We’re looking forward to GMWA’s best convention ever in July.”

The Macy’s Music Fesitival is expected to be a perfect compliment to the GMWA convention, and is anticipated to drive an economic impact of more than $25 million. This year’s R&B and soul music festival has already experienced a 50 percent surge in ticket sales over last year’s event, and will welcome the likes of Charlie Wilson, Teena Marie, Jaheim, Melanie Fiona and Cameo, Maze, Jill Scott, En Vogue, K’Jon and Raheem DeVaughn.

The coordination of the two major events was announced on Fountain Square this afternoon where local leaders and officials celebrated the impact the events will have on Cincinnati’s center city.

“Cincinnati continues to be a premier destination for important conventions and a hotbed for great cultural events and entertainment,” said Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory. “During this particular week in July, it all comes together in a special way. Our events and attractions have collaborated extremely well to create an unforgettable week of music and arts events for the thousands of convention and leisure visitors coming to the region.”

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Business News Politics

Cincinnati City Council approves new mobile food vendor program

Cincinnati’s City Council this afternoon approved the Mobile Food Vendor Pilot Program, as proposed by Councilmember Laure Quinlivan, by a 7-1 margin. Councilmember Leslie Ghiz (R) was the lone dissenting vote, while Councilmember Bortz (C) was not present.  The vote comes a day after City Council’s Quality of Life Committee voted to pass the measure after a long discussion that included public comment.

Members from the Cincinnati Food Truck Alliance including Senor Roy’s Taco Patrol and Cafe de Wheels, as well as relative newcomer, New Orleans To Go, came in support of mobile food vendors as an indicator of a healthy, vibrant city. Senor Roy himself gave three points as a reason to support the mobile food movement:

  1. Food trucks open in lots during late hours support the downtown community and their presence makes the area safer by populating an otherwise empty space with people, which is seen as a great safety measure.
  2. Cincinnati joining the national mobile food movement  creates attention for the area and attracts press.
  3. Venture capital is hard to come by, and mobile vendors allow brick and mortar companies to expand at a fraction of the cost.

The one concern brought up at the Quality of Life Committee meeting on Tuesday, June 22nd involved possible noise concerns from downtown residents. However, as Tom Acito of Cafe de Wheels put it, “It’s impossible to know if there would be a problem or not if we don’t try. We’ve got to move ahead.” After some debate, the 6th & Race location has now been moved from 6th Street to the other end of the parking lot to 5th Street to accommodate those concerns.

Starting Monday, June 28th, there will be three locations at which mobile food vendors – carts or trucks selling non-alcoholic beverages and ready-to-eat foods – will be able to use in the Downtown Business District on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Permits for the public locations will cost between $400-800 depending upon location and size of the truck, and vendors will be able to operate from 6am to 3:30am seven days a week.  The three public locations included in the Mobile Food Vendor Pilot Program include:

  • Sawyer Point – 1-2 spaces east of the Purple People Bridge
  • Court Street Market – 6 spaces on the south side of Court Street at Vine Street heading east. This is the only zone with electric service, 110 volt/20 amps. No heat lamp or grills supported.
  • 5th & Race Parking Lot – 12 spaces on southeast end of lot, along Race Street. Vendors must enter and exit using the 6th Street gate.

The first 20 vendors to sign up beginning the morning of Thursday, June 24th at 9am will receive Revocable Street Privileges that grants them access to any of the three locations. Policy makers say that this permit will keep vendors accountable, and will ensure that the locations are not overbooked.

“The pricing is very fair compared with what is being charged at private lots, and we still have the right to go to any private lot of our choice,” stated Gary Sims, owner, Taco Azul. “We will learn as we go, but as long as City Council is willing to adjust it will be good, and as far as I’m concerned it’s a good pilot program.”

The City appears to be setting the stage to do just that as they have planned to review the pilot program in October 2010 to examine progress and make any necessary adjustments.  While the program provides these additional public locations for mobile food vendors to locate, it does not remove the ability for mobile food vendors to locate on private property as they do presently.

Stay up-to-speed on the whereabouts of Cincinnati’s growing number of food trucks by following UrbanCincy’s comprehensive Twitter list.